Safety device for vehicles



Dec. 31, 1935.

L.; PRYoR y SAFETY DEVICE FOR VEHICLES Filed May s1, 1955 2 sneet-sheet1 /ITTOENE YS Dec. 31, 1935., 2,025,822

l.. E. PRYOR SAFETY DEVICE FOR VEHICLES Filed May 31, 1955 2sheets-snee?, 2

INVENTOR, LEO E. Pe ,fo/e

l Y l M @duim/Mle( TTORNEYS Patented Dec. 31, 1935 UNITED STATESlPri'rlszlr'r OFFICE I SAFETY DEvIcE FoaY VEHICLES i Leo E. Pryor,Delano, Calif. Application May 31, 1935, Serial No. 24,444 11 claims.(o1. 28o-,150)

This invention relates generally to vehicles and moreparticularly to asafety device for use therewith, p

An object of the invention is to provide a safety device which embodiesmeans manually or automatically operable to prevent the occupants of avehicle from being thrown from the vehicle or against walls or surfacesthereof which might cause injury or death to the occupants in the eventof a collision or other'form of accident involving the vehicle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a safety device which-morespecifically embodies nets or mantles which are normally arranged l5folded in an unobstructing and inconspicuous position, but which can beinstantaneously actuf-- .-.ated to envelop the occupants ofthe vehicleto such extent and with sufficient security to insure that the occupantswill be retained in their seats against the inertia manifesting itselfupon the sudden checking of the vehiclevs speed or sudden change in itsdirection of movement resulting from a collision or other form ofaccident,'all to the end of preventing miury to the occupants 93 fromcontact with some Vpart of the vehicle. Another object of the inventionis to provide a safety device of the above described character which isconstructed and-arranged to enable the occupants to instantly free,themselves from the mantles following operation thereof, so as toprevent the occupants from being imprisoned in the vehicle in the eventof re or other condition necessitating that the occupants Aimmediatelyvacate the vehicle for safety. A further object of the invention is toprovide a safety device which embodies an actuating mechanism for the.mantlesa capable of being readily set and re-set following actuationofthe mantles, and which is both positive and dependable in its operation.

With these land other objects in view, the in Figure 1 is a view invertical longitudinal sec tion, showing the safety deviceI embodyingthis invention incorporated in a vehicle;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary showing the mantles folded;

Figure 3 is a perspective vieta of. the ,actuating .i

mechanism for the mantles;

Figures 4 and 5 are detail sectionalviews v`taken,

bottom plan view through similar tubes arms iB IIla are connectedtogether at 24-24 beyond. the rear ends of the respective tubes 23 and23a to form single cables 25-25 which are 55 respectively, on the lines4-4 and 5 5 of Figure 1.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the invention comprises flexiblecovering elements such as generally rectangular-shaped front and rear 5mantles M and M', which are preferably constructed of relatively coarsenetting or other suitable.` material having the requisite strength andflexibility. Secured to theforward corners of the .mantle M are rigidarms Ill-I0, and secured 10 to the rear corners of the mantle arerelatively short rigid arms Il-I I. The pairs of arms Ill-II, I0`-II,are respectively pivotally connected at I2-I2 to carriages I 3-I3reciprocably mounted in vertical guideways I4I4 provided 15 in the sidewalls I5 of the vehicle approximately in line with the back rest of thefront seat I6. The carriages are normally retained in elevatedpositions, with the arms I0 and II disposed horizontally beneath theroof I'I of the vehicle, and 20 with the mantle M arranged substantiallyat contiguous to the underside of the roof, all as shown in broken linesin Figure 1. For this purpose, suitable spring clips I8-I8-I8-I8 aresecured to the side walls I5 adjacent the roof 25 and are adapted toengage and releasably hold the arms I0'and Il, as shown in Figure 4. Asthe means for supporting the rear mantle M' are identical to those justdescribed for4 the front mantle M, the aforestated description will suf-30 flce for both. However, in order to distinguish like parts of the twomantle-supporting` means from each other, the numerals designating theparts of the rear mantle-supporting means are provided with exponents.35

For simultaneously actuating the mantles M and M to cause them. toenvelopl the occupants of the front and rear seats I6 and I6a as shownin full lines in Figure 1, the following actuating mechanism and controlmeans therefor is pro- 10A `vided.

Detachably secured by snap hooks I 9-20 to the free ends of the armsIll- I0 and II-II areI flexible cables 2I-2I and 22-22, respectively, v

A these cables passing into tubes 23 provided in the 45 side walls ofthefvehicle body and'extending beneath the floor of the latter to pointsat the rear therein?. Other cables IIa- Zia and 22a-22a are detachablysecured by snap hooks Illa- 20a to the free ends of the. arms Illa-Inaand 50 IIalla respectively, these cables extending 23a. The cables forthe connected together at 30-30 beyond the rear` ends of the respectivetubes 23 and 23a to fo-rm single cables 3I-3I which are trained aboutpulleys 32--32 also fixed to the shaft 21 alongside the respectivepulleys 26`26. Fixed to the shaft 21 medially between the pairs ofpulleys is a pinion gear 33 which meshes with a relatively largesegmental gear 34 mounted on a shaft 35 disposed parallel to the shaft21 and journaled in bearings 36 fixed to the cross member 29. Connectedby a yoke 31 to a radial arm 38 on the gear 34 are one of the ends ofcoil springs 39-39, the other ends of which are secured to a secondcross member 40 of the chassis frame.

Fixed to the shaft 21 adjacent the` gear 33 is a detent 4I which isadapted to co-act with an inertia responsive element comprising aweighted arm 42 rockably mounted in a yoke bearing 43 fixed to the crossmember 29 and normally urged against a stop lug 44 by a spring 45 todispose a detent 46 on the arm for engagement with the detent 4I on theshaft in order to prevent rotation of the shaft in one direction andmaintain the actuating mechanism in a set position against the action ofthe springs 39--39 when loaded.

As the axis about which the weighted arm 42 is mounted to rock istransversely disposed with respect to the length of the vehicle, asudden checking of forward motion of the vehicle, such as would occur inthe event of a collision, will cause the detent 46 of the arm todisengage the detent 4| of the shaft. Connected to the arm 42 and to the`spring mounted foot rest 41 for the usual accelerator pedal 48 is aflexible cable 48a which upon depressing the rest 41 against the actionof la relatively heavy spring 49, exerts a pull upon the cable to rockthe arm 42 and disengage its detent 48 from .the shaft detent 4l. Thuscan the shaft be released automatically by the action of inertia ormanually if desired.

Fixed to one end of the shaft 21 is a gear 50 with which constantlymeshes a pinion gear 5I to the shaft 52 of which nis 'adapted to -bedetachablyv connected the usual crank 53 provided for cranking theengine, all for the purpose of winding the shaft 21 to load the springs39 and set the actuating mechanism.

The operation of the invention is as follows: It is to be assumed thatthe `mantles M and M' occupy the/ folded or inactive positions shown inbroken lines in Figure 1, and that the shaft.

21 has been wound to place the springs 39 under tension, the shaft beinglatched against retrograde'movement by the co-acting detents 4I ,and 46.It is to be noted that along with the several arms Ill-Ina and II-Ila,the cables 2|-2la and 2222a are releasably held against the walls of thevehicle body by the spring clips I8.

f Upon disengagement of the detent 46 from the detent 4l either by theaction of inertia nanifesting itself should the vehicles speed beuddenly checked, as upon collision with another vehicle, or manually bythe operator aware of an impending accident, the loaded springs 39 fwill instantaneously respond through the gears 34 and 33 to drive theshaft 21 in the direction of the arrows in Figure 3.

Thus the pulleys 26-26 and 32--32 will exert pulls upon the respectivecables to cause the latter to eo-act with the several supporting arms ofthe mantles M and M to draw the mantles over the occupants of the frontand rear seats, all as shown in Figure l. The springs 39 have suflicientstrength to securely hold the mantles about the heads and shoulders ofthe occupants 5 so that the latter will be held vin their seats. Inorder to prevent excessive sagging of the mantles from the lungingstrain imposed thereon by the occupants, a flexible strap 54 ispermanently secured at one end above the rear windows of the 10 vehiclebody as indicated at 55, and'is also secured at the points 56 and 51 tothe respective mantles M and M' medially between the sides the latter asshown in Figure 2. The free end of the strap is also secured to themantle M vfrom 15 the peint of connection 56 therewith to theforward'edge of the mantle, thus reinforcing the mantles and reducingthe stresses imposed on the carriages |3-l3 and I3a-l3a.

It is to be noted that the front mantle M is 20 somewhat shorter thanthe rear mantle M and sufficiently so for the operator to have free useof his arms for steering of the vehicle with the 'mantle applied.Both'mantles will lyield to an extent enabling the snap hooks I9, 20,I9a, 20a to 25 be unfastened in order that the occupants can freethemselves from thefmantles.

To -reset the actuating mechanism, it is only necessary to rotate theshaft 21 through the medium of the gears and 5I by applying 30 manualturning force to the crank 53, the cables being unwound from therespective pulleys, and the springs being placed under load. One fourthof a revolution of the segmental gear is required to load the springs,the detents 4I and 45 co-act- 35 ing in the set position of themechanism shown in Figure 3 to latch the mechanism. The mantles can nowbe replaced beneath the roof of the vehicle, and suspended by the clipsI8, so that the device will be again ready for use. 40

What is claimed is:

1. A safety device of the class described comprising a flexible`covering element; means, for mounting the element in a vehicle formovement from a folded position to a position wherein it 45 'willenvelop the upper portion of a person seated in the vehicleand means formoving the element to and holding it in enveloping position withsufcient security to prevent the enveloped person from being thrownagainst parts of the ve- 50 hicle.

2. A safety device of the class described comprising a flexible coveringelement; means for mounting the element in a vehicle body for movementfrom a folded position contiguous to the roof of the body to anenveloping position with respect to the upper portion of a person seatedin the vehicle; actuating means for said element tending to move thelatter to and maintain it in itsv enveloping position; means forreleasably 60 retaining the actuating means in a set position; and meansunder the control of an occupant of the vehicle for tripping theretaining means so as .torender the actuating means free to move theelement as aforestated.

3. A safety device of the class described comprising a flexible coveringelement; means for mounting the element in a vehicle body for movementfrom a folded position contiguous to the lroof of the body to anenveloping position with respect to the upper portion of a person seated in the vehicle; actuating means for said element tending to movethe latter to andv maintain it `and inertiaresponsive means for trippingthe retaining means so as to render the actuating` mountingtlie elementin agvehicle for movementeration of the last meafns. v

from a foldedy position toa position wherein it will envelop the upperportion of a. person seatedf in the vehicle; means f r moving theelement to and holding it in envel ping position with suicient securityto prevent the enveloped person from being thrown against parts of thevehicle; and inertia-responsive means for controlling op- 5. A safetydevice of the class described comprisi'ng a exible netting; meansfor'supporting the netting in a vehicle body clear of the occupants ofthe Vehicle; and means for actuating the netting to cause the latter toenvelop theupper portion of a seated occupant of the vehicle and to holdthe occupant from contact with parts of the vehicle likely tocauseinjury to the occupant. p

6. A safety device of the class described oomprising a exible coveringelement; means for mounting the element in a vehicle for movement from afolded position to a position wherein it will envelop the upper portionof a person seated in the vehicle; and means for moving the` element toandholding it in envelopingposition with sufcient security to preventthe enveloped person from being thrown against parts of the vehicle,said mounting means including carriages Jvertically slidable in the sidewalls of the vehicle body,

arms connected `lto the carriages and. to the ele` ment, and cablesconnected to the arms at locations for the arms and carriages to co-actin guiding the element about the person when the cables are actuated.

'7. A safety device of the class described comprising a flexiblenetting; means for mounting the netting in a vehicle bodyfor movementfrom an inactive position to an active position wherein the netting isadapted to envelop a seated occupant of the vehicle; Aa spring loadedactuating mechanism for said element; means for operatively connectingthe mechanism to the element for movement of the latter to envelopingposition upon a release of the. spring; means for latching the mechanismwith the spring loaded; and means for tripping the latching means torender the spring free to" act.

' 8. A safety device of the class described com prising a flexiblenetting; means for mounting f the netting in a vehicle body for movementfrom an inactive position to an active position wherein thefnetting isadapted to envelop a seated occupant of the vehicle; a shaft; pulleysxed to' the' shaft; cables trained about the pulleys and connected tosaid element; a spring operatively connected to said shaft to' rotatethe latter and cause,

. said pulleys and cables to co-act in moving the netting to envelopingposition; means for latching the shaft against rotation with said springloaded; and means for releasing the latching means to render the springfree to rotate the shaft as aforestated.

9. A safety device of the class`described comprising a flexible netting;meanslformounting the netting in a vehicle body for movement from'.

an inactive position to an active position wherein 15 the netting isadapted to envelop a seated occunected to said shaft to rotate thelatter and cause 20 said pulleys and cables to co-act in moving thenetting to enveloping position; a detent xed to the shaft; and aninertia-responsive member having a detent normally co-acting with theshaft detent to latch the shaft against rotation with 25 said springloaded. l

10. A safety device of the class described comprising a flexiblenetting; means for mounting the nettingV in a vehicle body for movementfrom f an inactive position to an active position wherein 30,

the netting is adapted to envelop a seated occupant ofthe vehicle; ashaft; pulleys fixed to' the shaft; cables trained about the pulleys andconnected to said element; a spring operatively connected to said shaftto rotate) the latter cause said pulleys and, cables to co-act in movithe netting to enveloping position; a detent fixed to the--shaft; aweighted arm having a detent normally cci-acting with the shaft detentto latch.

the shaft against rotation with said spring loaded; and manuallyoperable means connected to saidY arm for actuating the latter from aremote point on the vehicle.

11. A safety device of the class described comprising a flexiblenetting; means for-supporting the Vnetting in a vehicle body clear ofthe oc'cupants of the vehicle; means for actuating the netting to causethe latter to envelop a seated a occupant of the lvehicle and to holdthe occupant yfrom contact with parts of the vehicle; and a so' flexibletie member connected to the netting intermediate the sides of thevehicle body and to the body at a point rearwardly of the netting forreinforcing the latter against forward lunging stresses imposed thereonby' an enveloped person.

- LEO E. PRYOR.

